This two-hour webinar is hosted by the authors of the recent Post Event Team Reflection guidance document published by ACP-UK. This guidance contains practical guidance and useful templates, not for the purpose of preventing PTSD but rather to create spaces that foster peer-to-peer support, team cohesion and meaning making. In doing so, it recognises that group support following such events can be one helpful element of post-incident support, alongside other important provisions such as 1:1 assessment or therapy.

This online event will introduce the PETR model and describe how it can fit within a wider pathway for supporting staff involved in potentially traumatic events. There will be an opportunity to ask questions and for shared reflections on facilitating reflective spaces in this context.

The speakers:

Dr Zoe Berger

Zoe Berger is a consultant clinical psychologist and Head of Paediatric Psychological Therapies at St George’s Hospital in London. She has been Clinical Lead for Schwartz Rounds and is a mentor for the Point of Care Foundation. She has a commitment and passion for working in physical health contexts and in supporting staff through a variety of initiatives to be able to deliver safe and compassionate care.  Over the last 16 years she has been involved in the delivery and strategic development of staff support initiatives within teams, across organisations and nationally.

Dr Harriet Conniff

Harriet Conniff is a mother and clinical psychologist who has worked in paediatrics and adult health settings for much of her career, mainly in intensive care and respiratory medicine. Harriet is systemically trained, specialising in the solution-focused approach and finds the latter, as well as a systemic consultation model, particularly useful in staff support working. Since 2018 she has led on staff support across the Evelina Children’s Hospital and Women’s Services in Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust (GSTT). This was the first known staff support psychology post to work at this scale outside of Occupational Health domains. She now also works strategically at an organisational level in this large Acute Trust with 28,000 staff. Harriet is the editor for Psychological Staff Support in Healthcare, the first book published by ACP-UK which brings together the expertise of over forty psychologists and other staff wellbeing practitioners.

Dr Joanna Farrington-Exley

Joanna Farrington-Exley is a principal clinical psychologist and lead for Staff Wellbeing at Leeds Children’s Hospital within Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. She also leads the Schwartz Round programme in Leeds Children’s Hospital. For the first 10 years of her qualified life, Joanna worked in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services in the North of England. Joanna moved into the area of workforce wellbeing in 2017. She has a long-term interest in supporting colleagues and a particular curiosity about how we can sustain ourselves and each other as health care providers, through compassionate cultures and systems.

Dr Julie Highfield

Julie Highfield is a consultant clinical psychologist & Lead for Organisational Health in Adult and Paediatric Critical Care, Cardiff. She is the Director of Wellbeing for the Intensive Care Society. Julie qualified as a clinical psychologist in 2008 and became a consultant clinical psychologist in 2013. She specialises in medical and health care settings, working with patients, their loved ones and the staff who care for them. She has worked in several settings including perinatal mental health, nephrology, cardiology, respiratory medicine and for the last nine years has specialised in critical care. She contributes to several national guidelines and is a regular speaker at intensive care conferences. Julie works closely with staff in their experience of working in healthcare, as well as advising managers on matters of workforce wellbeing. Her role with the Intensive Care Society led to her leading a BMJ award winning UK wide wellbeing and leadership programme for UK intensive care professionals.

In parallel to her psychology role, Julie has also worked as a Project Manager for Macmillan Cancer Care, was the Associate Clinical Director of Cardiff Critical Care, and the Director of Wellbeing for the Intensive Care Society. She co-chairs the national group of psychologists in intensive care UK (PINC-UK). She also offers independent consultation work to other NHS Trusts in the UK, currently including The Welsh Emergency Retrieval and Transfer Service, Northern Trust in Northern Ireland, and Manchester Foundation Hospitals NHS Trust.

Dr Sadie Thomas-Unsworth

Sadie Thomas-Unsworth is a consultant clinical psychologist and Psychology Lead for staff support, children’s cancer and children’s palliative care. Sadie developed an interest in staff support through her clinical work in paediatric palliative care and paediatric cancer in which she saw first hand the impact of the work on healthcare colleagues. In particular, she became interested in how we can support staff after distressing events to help them feel connected with one another and the values that brought them into their job. Sadie is particularly influenced by ACT/CFT and systemic approaches and how they can inform our work with health and social care staff. Sadie is Co-Chair of the ACP-UK Staff Health and Wellbeing Network, ACP-UK’s largest network group.

Booking closes 10am – Tuesday 30 April 2024